Latest Resources

Assessment of support for agroecology in South Africa’s policy landscape

by Dr Stephen Greenberg (Veuillez cliquer ici pour le français) In March 2023, civil society organisations and farmers met with the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to share views on agroecology and to promote a call from 58 organisations for a national agroecology strategy. In support of the process, the ACB […]

GM WHEAT OUT OF AFRICA!

Groundswell support for rejection of GM wheat approval in South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa, May 2023 (Haga clic aquí para ver en español) (Clique aqui para ver em português) From across South Africa, the rest of the African continent, and the world, 85 organisations representing millions of small-scale farmers, workers, and consumers have strongly supported […]

NO TO GM WHEAT IN SOUTH AFRICA!

 We call on the government to reverse approval of GM wheat into our country Thank you to the 80+ organisations, listed below, who support this ACB submission to the South African Biosafety authorities, the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act, to review and reassess its decision to grant approval for the importation into South Africa of […]

Rich Appetites

Co-produced by AGRA Watch and Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Rich Appetites is a five-part series that exposes the corporate capture of African agriculture and food systems, showing how billionaire philanthropists have pushed industrial agriculture around the globe—including in Africa, involving an empire of influence between Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa […]

UNSAFE GM WHEAT TO ENTER SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SYSTEMS

DISASTER CAPITALISM, BIOTECH INDUSTRY IN DECLINE & INSTRUMENTALISATION OF WHEAT IN AFRICA In August 2022, the South African government approved a GM wheat variety HB4 for importation as food, feed, and for the purposes of industrial food and feed processing, following Nigeria’s approval in July. Since then, Argentina and Brazil have been the only two […]

2,4-D GM MAIZE AND THE REGULATORY ANOMALIES REGARDING GMOs AND ASSOCIATED PESTICIDES

The case for categorising 2,4-D as a highly hazardous pesticide in South Africa In December 2019, three genetically modified (GM maize) varieties developed by Corteva (formally Dow AgroSciences) – genetically engineered to tolerate the toxic and highly hazardous chemical 2,4-D – were approved for commercial cultivation in South Africa, despite many long years of opposition […]

Agroecology advocacy meeting held in Suurbraak

In February, together with the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) and Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE), the ACB hosted a meeting in Suurbraak, Western Cape, bringing together a network of farmer and civil society organisations to discuss a strategy to approach government to support agroecology. Through the lens of advocacy, and a focus on the challenges facing […]

ACB at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15)

The 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) was held in Montreal, Canada, 7-19 December. Governments from around the world came together to work towards an agreement on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during COP 15 […]

JUDGMENT ON ACB’S HIGH COURT REVIEW OF MONSANTO’S ALLEGED DROUGHT TOLERANT GM TRAIT PENDING

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, 7-8 February, the ACB’s case was heard in the High Court. Five years earlier, the ACB lodged the application for this review, to overturn the decisions of the South African Executive Council (EC): Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Act, the GMO Appeal Board, and the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and […]

Landmark legal challenge against Monsanto/ Bayer’s “bogus” drought tolerant GM maize ...

In 2017, the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) lodged legal proceedings with the High Court of South Africa to review and overturn the decisions of the South African Executive Council: GMO Act (EC), the GMO Appeal Board, and the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, approving Monsanto/Bayer’s genetically modified (GM) drought-tolerant (DT) maize variety MON […]